6 April 2018 #carbonaraday Barilla celebrates the world's best loved (and most hotly disputed) pasta dish
6 April 2018
The plain and simple tradition says short pasta, eggs, guanciale cured pork cheek, pepper and pecorino cheese. But innovative interpretations of carbonara are appearing every day, all over the world, proving our global love affair with this recipe. In fact, 12% of social media discussions during #CarbonaraDay last year focused on "updated" recipes compared to the classical version: from Carbonara pizza to Chicken Carbonara, and from vegetarian to seafood Carbonara.
Barilla is a great supporter of this trend, and to markthe second edition of #CarbonaraDay - organized by the pasta producers of the AIDEPI and IPO for tomorrow, 6 April - it will be posting a series of videos about carbonara on its social media channels in more than 20 countries worldwide, showing the Barilla chefs demonstrating not just the traditional recipe but also 7 variants with just one ingredient changed. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okeojVl4zxM&t=0s&list=PLOnt2obSsY6dIvJ-OSjubFXU1dWSaA_bD&index=9)
For example chicken, chorizo or diced salmon instead of guanciale. Not to mention vegetarian variants with crispy zucchini and asparagus, fresh spinach with red beans, or avocado slices for an exotic touch. Of course, some purists may frown, but one of the best things about pasta is its immense versatility, and its ability to adapt to different cultures and traditions: just changing one ingredient in the traditional recipe creates interesting, innovative variations...
A TRADITIONAL RECIPE THAT HAS GONE GLOBAL TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER
Carbonara is a traditional recipe. However, Barilla is open to the various interpretations that express global diversity and involve the whole world. After all, there are very few recipes as universally popular as Carbonara, loved both in Italy, where it is a standard of our traditional cuisine, and abroad, where it is often reworked in a wide assortment of variants.
“Carbonara is a fantastic pasta dish, with great potential for variations on the original recipe," chef Lorenzo Boni tells us. A vegetarian might have fun trying out a roast artichoke instead of the guanciale or a seafood enthusiast might opt for stir-fried prawns. Meat lovers could even make it with the left-overs from a barbecue. What's more, you can also create a great carbonara with other spices instead of black pepper: in other words, a real global recipe, capable of bringing people together."
THE BARILLA CHEFS' SECRETS FOR A PERFECT CARBONARA
Carbonara is apparently very easy to make. Just a few ingredients, only five basic ones including the pasta, but they must be put together in the right way. It's quick to prepare, taking just a few minutes, but the technique must be flawless: the assembly sequence, temperatures and blend of flavors are all-important.
“The key to a perfect carbonara," Barilla chef Robert Bassi tells us, "is to coagulate the egg and cheese proteins not over the heat but on the freshly-drained, boiling-hot pasta, with the addition of a little cooking water. Carbonara is an amazing recipe, and the video we have made takes us on a virtual journey around the world, embracing all latitudes and all dietary habits."
(SEAFOOD) CARBONARA, THE WORLD CHAMPION DISH FROM SICILY (VIA THE USA)
Carbonara also emerged victorious at the latest edition of the Barilla Pasta World Championship. Last September's winner was Accursio Lotà, a Sicilian chef now living and working in San Diego, with his version of seafood Carbonara. The base was an amberjack carpaccio, finished with Mazara red prawns. Between them, the classical spaghetti with egg coating - but using fish eggs. Marinated salmon eggs, tuna roe, sea urchin eggs and Osetra caviar, creating a dense, satisfying Carbonara sensation on the palate. The cured pork guanciale put in just a walk-on appearance - its fat was used to blanch the scallops. To clean the palate, the freshness of mandarin orange zest.
IN AMERICA, #CARBONARADAY LASTS A WHOLE MONTH IN BARILLA RESTAURANTS
Carbonara will also be the featured dish in Barilla restaurants: for a whole month, from 6 April, the menus of the five Barilla Restaurants in New York and California will include this recipe in an interpretation by chef Alfonso Sanna.
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